Journal Article

Ecosystem energetic implications of parasite and free-living biomass in three estuaries

Mora, Adrienne B., Hechinger, Ryan F., Whitney, Kathleen L., Mancini, Frank T., Dunham, Eleca J., Aguirre-Macedo, Leopoldina, Talhouk, Nadia L., Huspeni, Todd C., Pickering, Maria, Mababa, Luzviminda, Lorda, Julio, Shaw, Jenny C., Fredensborg, Brian L., Torchin, Mark E., Lafferty, Kevin D., Boch, Charlie A., Dobson, Andrew P., Kuris, Armand M.

2008

Overview

Parasites count too Parasites — and other infectious agents — can have a major impact on an ecosystem, by targeting a prominent prey or predator species. But a study of the biomass of free-living and parasitic species in three estuaries on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California suggests that parasite ecology should be given more weighty consideration in food-web analysis and ecosystem modelling in future. The surprise finding was that parasites have substantial biomass in these ecosystems, even exceeding that of top predators. For instance the biomass of trematodes — parasitic flukes — was particularly high, comparable to that of birds, fish, burrowing shrimps and polychaetes. Parasites can have strong impacts but are thought to contribute little biomass to ecosystems 1 , 2 , 3 . We quantified the biomass of free-living and parasitic species in three estuaries on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California. Here we show that parasites have substantial biomass in these ecosystems. We found that parasite biomass exceeded that of top predators. The biomass of trematodes was particularly high, being comparable to that of the abundant birds, fishes, burrowing shrimps and polychaetes. Trophically transmitted parasites and parasitic castrators subsumed more biomass than did other parasitic functional groups. The extended phenotype biomass controlled by parasitic castrators sometimes exceeded that of their uninfected hosts. The annual production of free-swimming trematode transmission stages was greater than the combined biomass of all quantified parasites and was also greater than bird biomass. This biomass and productivity of parasites implies a profound role for infectious processes in these estuaries.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: Animal and plant ecology / Animal, plant and microbial ecology / Animals / Biological and medical sciences / Biomass / Biomass energy / Birds / Brackish water ecosystems / California / Ecosystem / Ecosystem components / Ecosystem studies / Ecosystems / Environmental aspects / Estuaries / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Host-Parasite Interactions / Humanities and Social Sciences / Impact analysis / Invertebrates / letter / Marine / multidisciplinary / Nemathelminthia. Plathelmintha / Pacific Ocean / Parasites / Parasites - isolation & purification / Parasites - physiology / Predators / Science / Snails - parasitology / Swimming / Synecology / Systematics. Geographical distribution / Trematoda - isolation & purification / Trematoda - physiology / Trematode Infections - parasitology / Wetlands